Bacon-Cheeseburger Skillet Pasta

I don’t recall eating Hamburger Helper much growing up. Though it’s possible I’ve just been blocking the memories out all of these years.

I did make a good run with HH, and its sibling, Tuna Helper, my senior year of college though. At least, when I wasn’t mixing frozen vegetables with ramen and calling it a balanced meal. You know, #adulting.

Anyway, my point is, there is definitely something to a big pan of cheesy, meaty, saucy pasta for dinner. Especially if you add bacon and creamy american cheese [save your snickering, I’m an avowed american cheese fan]. This meal takes a bit more time to pull together than the boxed version, but I’m telling you it will be loads better.

Like, tons and tons better.

Like, standing over the pan and snacking on spoonfuls better. [You’re with me, right?]

Bacon-Cheeseburger Skillet Pasta

Print Recipe

No “helper”, not even a pot of boiling water, is needed for this tasty skillet pasta. Ground turkey, bacon, tomato, seasonings, and melty american cheese come together for a delicious weeknight meal.

• Author: Kate Nolan
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Main
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound ground beef or turkey
• 1 medium onion, minced
• 3 slices bacon, chopped
• 1 can (15 oz) Italian seasoning tomato sauce
• 1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
• 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• dash cayenne
• 4 oz elbow macaroni
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 4 oz American cheese

Instructions

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot.
2. In the skillet, cook meat, bacon, and onion together over medium-high heat until meat is just cooked through.
3. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Return pan to heat and add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings; bring to simmer.
5. Mix in pasta and green pepper and season with salt and pepper.
6. Cover and simmer for about five minutes.
7. Return meat mixture to pan and mix together.
8. Simmer, covered, for additional five minutes until pasta is cooked through.
9. Top with cheese slices and cover.
10. Let sit for a few minutes, until the cheese melts, then serve.

Notes

Track it using MyFitnessPal (based on 93% ground turkey).
Elbow pasta is ideal because its small size and shape allow it to cook quickly. If you’d like to use another pasta shape, you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly; Longer for larger pastas like penne and shorter for smaller pastas like orzo. It will also affect how “saucy” the final dish will be.
I like adding the green pepper with the pasta so it retains a bit of its texture, but if you prefer for it disappear more, then cook it up with the turkey, bacon, & onion.

Nutrition

• Calories: 306
• Sugar: 6 g
• Sodium: 676 mg
• Fat: 12 g
• Saturated Fat: 5 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
• Carbohydrates: 26 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Protein: 22 g
• Cholesterol: 66 mg